:I was ready to accede to these but decided to investigate the idea of it being 'Coptic Art' further. This led me to learn that the Coptic Patriarch Cyril I (404-430 A.D.) authorized the use of icons as a visual means for teaching Christian doctrines (http://www.coptic.net/articles/CopticIcons.txt). All of this tenatively aligns with your conjecture "I have my doubts that the tradition of this icon only extends to the 15th century." I would not be surprised that if someone were to carry our the acedemic exercise that Vasiliki suggests they would find that the Nativity icon extends back to at least the 5th century (404-430).--[[User:DUCKMARX|DUCKMARX]] 01:06, January 4, 2009 (UTC)

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:I was ready to accede to these but decided to investigate the idea of it being 'Coptic Art' further. This led me to learn that the Coptic Patriarch Cyril I (404-430 A.D.) authorized the use of icons as a visual means for teaching Christian doctrines (http://www.coptic.net/articles/CopticIcons.txt). All of this tenatively aligns with your conjecture "I have my doubts that the tradition of this icon only extends to the 15th century." I would not be surprised that if someone were to carry our the academic exercise that Vasiliki suggests they would find that the Nativity icon extends back to at least the 5th century (404-430).--[[User:DUCKMARX|DUCKMARX]] 01:06, January 4, 2009 (UTC)

Revision as of 22:34, January 3, 2009

Rublev original?

I have my doubts that the tradition of this icon only extends to the 15th century. Surely Rublev didn't invent this... did he? —Fr. Andrewtalkcontribs(THINK!) 12:54, December 27, 2008 (UTC)

Since this is not an article I am familiar with all I will do is offer the following weblink which will offer some further insight into other nativity icons painted prior to Rublev ... if someone is willing to incorporate this information into the article somehow it would be great - I dont want to touch another persons hard work. Vasiliki 22:02, December 30, 2008 (UTC)

Your investigation into the origins of Rublev's Nativity design interests me. I have recently 'discovered' Nicola Pisano and his work in the Baptistry at Pisa. He has a panel which has design elements which appear in Giotto's "Nativity, the Birth of Jesus" and in Rublev's "The Nativity". Here is a listing of the design elements and its inclusion by each artist:

The Annunciation (Pisano)

The Blessed Mother on the delivery mat (Pisano)(Giotto)(Rublev)(Coptic)

I'm no expert in iconography, but being surrounded by it every day, I can at least say that there's a lot more to tracing the origin of an icon type than just "design elements." The monastery on Mt. Sinai, for instance, though it does have plenty of Egyptian iconography in it, is not part of the Coptic church. So are its icons "Byzantine" (a broad term with centuries and many thousands of miles of possible meanings) or "Coptic"? Or something else? —Fr. Andrewtalkcontribs(THINK!) 19:27, January 2, 2009 (UTC)

There are so many libraries with rare papyrus images ... do any of these have images or prototype like sketches of Christs life including the nativity? They are probably not available on the Internet so it would have to be a really academic exercise ... I think Harvard University library website has some papers on this sort of stuff. Vasiliki 21:41, January 2, 2009 (UTC)

You are correct, 'there's a lot more to tracing the origin of an icon type than just "design elements."' My purpose in comparing the design elements was to explore my speculation that Rublev might have been influenced by works by Pisano and/or Giotto. What my little analysis tells me is that all three artists were influenced by a Nativity design that originated in Egypt.

Relative to 'Coptic Art' and 'Byzantine Art', there is at least one important fact and one respected authority that support the idea of refering to the Nativity icon in the St Catherine Monastery as 'Byzantine':

The fact: St Catherine's was commissioned by the Byzanitne Emporer, Justinian (527-565)

I was ready to accede to these but decided to investigate the idea of it being 'Coptic Art' further. This led me to learn that the Coptic Patriarch Cyril I (404-430 A.D.) authorized the use of icons as a visual means for teaching Christian doctrines (http://www.coptic.net/articles/CopticIcons.txt). All of this tenatively aligns with your conjecture "I have my doubts that the tradition of this icon only extends to the 15th century." I would not be surprised that if someone were to carry our the academic exercise that Vasiliki suggests they would find that the Nativity icon extends back to at least the 5th century (404-430).--DUCKMARX 01:06, January 4, 2009 (UTC)